Springfield to Cop:'I Will F**king Kill You'

5/16/2011 6:30 AM PDT BY TMZ STAFF

Rick Springfieldthreatened to kill a deputy sheriff and the deputy's family the night he was arrested for drunk driving ... yet there is no mention of the incident in the arrest report -- law enforcement sources tell TMZ.

Springfield was arrested in Malibu on May 1 and blew a .10 -- above the legal limit.

Sources tell us ... Springfield was extremely angry after the deputy said his $200,000, 1963 Corvette Stingray would be towed away. Law enforcement sources tell us, Springfield yelled to the deputy, "If you tow my car I will f**king kill you and your family."

Law enforcement sources tell us ... back at the Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff's Station, the captain who runs the station asked the deputy, "Did you really feel threatened?" Our sources say some of the deputies at the station felt it was a loaded question, trying to minimize Springfield's statement.

In the end, our sources say there was no mention of the threat in the arrest report -- the report merely says Springfield was "belligerent."

You may recall, the Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff's Station is the place where the Mel Gibson 2006 DUI arrest report was rewritten to exclude Mel's anti-Semitic rant.

As for Springfield, his rep gave TMZ this statement: "Someone has leaked information illegally. It's a sad reflection on society today that people in law enforcement who we look up to, pander to the celebrity gossip channels."

LA County Sheriff's Dept. spokesman Steve Whitmore tells TMZ, "It is rare when a drunk doesn't say something outlandish to police when they're arrested. I have no idea what went down with this one, I wasn't there, but drunks are notorious for saying stupid, outlandish things to law enforcement all the time. Law enforcement's job is to get them off the streets, because they're drunk."

The D.A. currently has the file and is deciding whether to charge Springfield with DUI.